Dominant position: £5 billion lawsuit against Sony and PlayStation in the UK

LONDON – Japanese electronics and video game giant Sony has been hit with a £5 billion class action lawsuit in the United Kingdom over the abuse of a dominant position in software sold on PlayStation.

The complaint was filed on August 19 in the Competition Court of Appeal by Alex Neal, CEO of consumer advocacy website Resolve, on behalf of nearly 9 million Sony PlayStation customers in the UK, following a statement dated Monday on the website dedicated to these lawsuits, ” Playstationyouoweus.co.uk”.

The lawsuit accuses Sony and PlayStation of violating competition laws and “stealing people” by charging a 30% commission on every digital game or in-game purchase from the PlayStation Store.

“Video games are now the main entertainment in the UK, before television, video and music (…). Sony shares are costing people millions who cannot spend them, especially when we are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis,” Neil said in the statement.

Sony spokespersons were not immediately available to comment on the complaint.

For its part, the video game producer Epic Games, which produces Fortnite, has entered into a confrontation with the American giant Apple, especially in the United Kingdom.

A US federal judge ordered Apple in late November to change its App Store business model, but appealed the decision.